Rising Star Jeremy Hiers

Nominated for: Working with government and contractor employees to develop a five-year road map for improving the performance of enterprise information technology systems in the Transportation Information Systems program. Voluntarily traveled to a combat zone to further his experience with the use of TIS products.

First IT mentor: Col. (ret.) Mark Barnette. I was assigned to Col. Barnette when I first began working for the Army as an intern in 2003. He took me under his wing and mentored me through several large, high-visibility and complex projects that would normally have been reserved for his more senior staff members. I was able to get a head start on developing the leadership, project management, critical thinking and communication skills that I continue to rely on daily.

Latest accomplishment: I am most excited about the role I have played in supporting the fielding of a major automated information system to Army units supporting the global war on terror in the Middle East. When our team was first given this project early last year, the objectives and path forward were very unclear. We had to overcome significant organizational, cultural and technical challenges to get us to where we are today. Fourteen months later, we have the system turned-on, and we are already seeing the benefits.

The annual Rising Star awards are presented by the 1105 Government Information Group, publisher of Federal Computer Week, GCN and Washington Technology, to public and private sector employees in the federal IT community who have gone above and beyond their job descriptions to make a lasting impact in their organization. See all the 2009 Rising Star award winners.

FCW investigated efforts by the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to improve a joint data repository on military and veteran suicides. Something as impersonal and mundane as incomplete datasets could be exacerbating a national tragedy.